


The Both of You

by MarcarellaPizza



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Ash Lynx Lives, Canon Compliant, Fix-It, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Minor Violence, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27724744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcarellaPizza/pseuds/MarcarellaPizza
Summary: His face was greeted with the sting of a harsh slap, echoing far louder than it seemed at first glance. For a moment, neither boy moved, startled by the crackling sound as they stared, brown eyes blown wide and green eyes screwed shut.Ash Lynx lives! Although it's not the warm house welcome you may have been expecting.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 88





	The Both of You

**Author's Note:**

> I see loads of stories where Ash makes it to japan and they're happily reunited... I'd like to think in a relistic cenario there's one alternate universe where Eiji reacts before he thinks and as a result starts off on the wrong foot.

His face was greeted with the sting of a harsh slap, echoing far louder than it seemed at first glance. For a moment, neither boy moved, startled by the crackling sound as they stared, brown eyes blown wide and green eyes screwed shut.

Sakura Okumura stood off to the side, jaw slacked with identical brown eyes round with shock. Her grip on the stairwell slackened, dragging across the wood as she melted down the remaining steps. “O-onichan.” She spluttered, daring to exchange a look from the foreigner to her brother. It was the handsome stranger who recovered first.

“I… You…  _ what did I do? _ ” He trembled, feet glued to the spot as he spoke. His body shaking as he caved in on himself, shrinking as if a child. 

“Eiji-niichan…  _ yamero! _ ” She gasped, sprinting to the front door. Still, Eiji remained still, his expression startled as his sister wedged herself between them. “ _ Na...nan…”  _ she shook her head, “ _ Kuso!  _ Eiji-niichan  _ dete itte!”  _ With a snap her brother locked his gaze onto her, mouth moving with trembling words. English words.

The foreigner must speak English.

“I-I’m so… so sorry.” Eiji spluttered, shimmering liquid pooled from his eyes. “I… Asshu… A-asshu I didn’t mean… I was scared, I thought I’d gone mad… then I  _ was _ mad and—“

“Ash”, as Eiji had called him, had taken a startled step back, pale cheek reddening with the print of a hand. His own had laid rest against it, prodding at the skin as if in disbelief. Sakura was in disbelief too. “I shouldn’t have come.” He muttered, voice thickening as he spoke. “I’ll go, I’m sorry I came here I—“

“STOP!” Eiji made a move to reach out and jolted when the blonde flinched away. Sakura shook her head, tugging her older brother back into the house.

“Go inside.” She muttered, switching to clumsy English. “And… Asshu,” she tested the name on her lips, “Stay. Do not go… please.” She ended with. Her brother voiced a useless complaint, being dragged by the sleeve into the house. As the siblings reached the stairs, Sakura shoved him towards them, blocking the path from behind. “I got this.” She enunciated clearly, turning towards their new guest. “Eiji-niichan fixes head first and Sakura… will be with Ash.”

Eiji bit his lip, the familiar sensation of dread washing over his features. The tears that had fallen had left tracks, staining his skin. “I hurt him…” Eiji muttered, as if lost in thought, “I didn’t mean—“

“Go to the bedroom.” Sakura cut in gently.

Her brother nodded mutely, eyes flickering to the front door in remorse, his footsteps sounded as heavy as his heart. Sakura sighed, exhaling a shaky breath before calmly making her way to Ash. “My english is bad.” She began, bowing as she stepped aside. When the boy remained still, she huffed, clearing her throat.

“Oh.” Ash muttered, staring blankly around, “Sorry… uhm… it’s okay.” The odd lack of any belongings had been puzzling towards Sakura, who’d silently wondered how her brother had known this boy. From America perhaps? If there was anything Eiji hadn’t spoken about, it was his long trip to the states.

“Do not say sorry.” Sakura hummed, shutting the door gently behind her, “It has been ten minutes and you’ve said sorry many times…” Ash nodded, fingers twitching. “Are you… from America?” He nodded again, biting his lip. “So you know why… Eiji-niichan hurt you?”

“Because I hurt him.” 

Sakura swallowed, nodding her head up and down as she processed his words. Nodding seemed to be the only safe thing to do between them. In her mind, she tried racking her brain for what Ash could have meant. This boy hadn’t been her brother’s stabber, nor did he seem to have been the cause for his night terrors. If anything, he’d almost seemed to have been expected.

It clicked.

“You are A.” She blurted, snapping her fingers at the revelation. “Dawn… window boy…  _ Asuran _ .” Her accent drawled out his name, rolling letters softly as she spoke. And then she frowned. “You are… Niichan said… you are dead.”

Ash’s body tensed, body still shrouding in on himself as he hummed in agreement. “I was… yeah.” He avoided her gaze, not daring to look her in the eye, “But that was a lie… to keep him safe until I could come here.”

“That’s why he hurt you.” Sakura realised.

“That’s my fault.” Ash hurried time say, blonde hair shaking with his head feverishly, “I deserved that—

“No. Never.” Sakura cut in, a hand gently reaching to place on his bicep. Slowly she’s moved, slowly because he’d been startled the first time. Slowly because Ash looked like a deer in headlights, slowly because Sakura could recognise trauma. “Eiji-niichan did bad… and he will say sorry… but he doesn’t mean it because I think seeing dead people can scare you, you know yes?… When he came back from America he was not happy. And he’d only been a little when looking at the photo.”

“Do not go Asuran.” Sakura squeezes her grip. “I will help. You both deserve happiness.” 

Ash numbly nodded as he was directed to move deeper into the house, their footsteps passing throughout the empty building. “It’s nice to meet you Sakura.” Ash spoke after a little while, “Eiji has told me a lot about you.”

She turned, head cocked to the side as if to study the words spilled from his lips. She hummed, a smile pressed to her face. “The moment is bad but I say the same also.” She nodded, bowing slightly as she stood up on the balls of her feet, “It will be okay. You both will.”


End file.
